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Friday, October 30, 2009

Philips Norelco HS8420/20 Nivea for Men Razor

Product FeaturesPrepares your skin with an enhanced stretch and lift pattern Follows the contours of the skin for a close shave The conditioner contains MICROtec to protect the skin against irritation Shave in or out of the shower Has a battery charge/low indicator with charging stand and anti-slip grip

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The most outstanding feature of this shaver is its comfort...but that comfort comes at a price. The shaver uses an innovative Nivea lotion dispenser that you pump into the body of the shaver. As you are shaving you press a button to dispense it. This works great for me. Produces a smooth, comfortable shave, I never have even the slightest bit of skin irritation.

As stated in other reviews, the manual does ask you to try the shaver for three weeks. I have and am very happy with how comfortable it is. But it still doesn't shave as close as a razor blade. I find the heads too big on my face to be effective in between my nose and lips so I still use a razor for that. Also I do find myself having to go over spots multiple times to get a trim to my satisfaction. On the other hand I have had electric shavers that cost more and have not performed as well.

You can check the cost of replacement lotion on Amazon and draw your own conclusions. The lotion that came with it is running low after three weeks of use. I can use shaving lotion or gel a lot longer before they run out and they cost less. But the comfort really is outstanding. Sometimes my razor still leaves my face red, this one never has. My face feels GOOD after using this, and that is certainly worth something. Comfort is a 5+ but closeness of shave and cost of replacement lotion brings the overall to a 4.

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I normally shave with a regular safety razor, the 4-bladed kind. One day while shaving, I thought to myself, "This is fine, but how could I shave in a way that is more expensive, takes a lot more time, uses more energy, is worse for the environment, and yet doesn't work as well and is vastly more irritating to my skin?" Luckily, the answer was close at hand: the Norelco "Nivea for Men" razor. This baby meets all my requirements, and then some. It only works with lotion sold in a special injector bottle, and you need a great deal of it. The rechargeable batteries supply little power to the anemic motor, so it takes forever to cut through my beard, and even then, it leaves an intolerable length of stubble behind. It'll run for less than 30 minutes per charge, and if you're lucky you'll get three shaves out of that, so expect to have this thing plugged in all the time, drawing current. It really only works in the shower, so you'll also use a lot of extra hot water standing there trying to get your stubble off.

And by the third day, my face felt like hamburger. The instruction book actually warns that this will happen, and insists that you need to give yourself a month to get used to a new way of shaving. Sorry, but I think after a month I'd look like the elephant man -- a hairy elephant man.

One final note: unlike many electrics, this razor has no trimmer, so you'll need a safety razor to clean up your sideburns or other edges. All in all, this is the worst grooming device of any kind I've ever seen.

Gluteus Maximus (SoCal)

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I have been using this for over three weeks. The manual states it takes three weeks for your skin to acclimate to the shaver. At first I was disappointed. It would not shave close like a razor. Every time I used it kept getting better and better. After three weeks the shave is pretty close but not as close as a razor. Sometimes I would take to long between shaves and it would become harder to get a clean shave. It is best when used every other day or however quick your stubble grows. The only problem I really have with this is not getting the closeness of a razor but it is still great. The other is that at time I need to use the razor to get stubble by my adams apple or neck area. The shaver doesn't pick it up even by doing it slow or by applying more shave. The last thing is the shave gel can get expensive. I purchased a bottle for $7 and it lasted the three weeks. Overall it is a great shaver. You have to stick with it for a few weeks to see if it will work for you. Give it time and you just might not use razors any more.